Everyone's Dead But Us Read Online Free PDF Page A

storm.”
    “It’s big,” Scott said, “but I don’t know what the waves would be like outside the harbor.”
    “Whose is it?” I asked.
    “Mr. Tudor’s.”
    “He won’t mind if we use it,” I said, “he’s dead.”
    “But I don’t know who’s in charge right now,” Sherebury said.
    “We need to do several things,” I said. “We need to get a message off the island. We need to see if that yacht is capable of sailing through this kind of storm. We need to preserve the crime scene. We need to make sure there are no more killings. We should check to see if there aren’t more victims already.”
    “Catch the killer?” Scott asked.
    “If he’s unarmed or dead, sure,” I replied.
    There was a tremendous “kabloom.” The ground shook. The remaining lights winked out.

 
    With one hand I grabbed for Scott. With the other I clutched at the Lucite top of the registration desk. All three of us steadied ourselves against the violent shaking. It stopped after several seconds.
    “An earthquake?” I asked. Violent volcanic eruptions and destructive earthquakes were common enough occurrences on the islands in the Aegean Sea. A flash of red lit the sky in the direction of the castle. We could see only the top of the tower. The rest was hidden by the rise in the ground. The sky continued to glow red, but we saw no flames. Currently our only light was provided by a few battery-operated exit signs, sporadic lightning, and distant emanations from the boats in the harbor. Without the lightning we could see our hands in front of our faces but not much more.
    I began to take a step in the direction of the castle when I heard an odd crinkling sound. I looked up. Cracks as big as gashes in the firmament were rapidly spreading throughout the vast glass dome above us. I heard several loud thuds and crashes. Lightning flashed. I saw glass shriven struts sticking up into the sky. A streak of lightning smashed into the peak of the metal.
    “Run!” Scott yelled.
    When we were halfway to the exit, Sherebury turned back. “Don’t,” I shouted after him.
    He ran about three steps toward the desk that had his computer on it. He got out the words, “I have to get—” His devotion to technology killed him. A jagged pane of glass, as wide as a Volkswagen, fell, cutting him nearly in two. He wasn’t going to have to worry about any kind of scandal.
    I was spared a lengthy examination of his horrific demise at this moment. Scott yanked me forward, and he and I resumed our dash for the nearest exit. Rain and glass seemed to be falling in equal amounts. Thousands of shards and fragments showered down on us, but fortunately none of the larger pieces. We used hands and arms to cover our heads as best we could as we ran. I felt numerous small stings. The sleeves of my jacket were quickly shredding. I barely had time to note slim rivulets of blood starting in several locations. Rain, no longer held back by the glass dome, pelted us relentlessly.
    I’ve never run faster.
    I didn’t see anyone else during our wild rush, but it was the middle of the night. We heard groaning more ominous than the thunder. Ten feet from the exit I realized that bolts and rivets holding the superstructure together were among the glass shards and pouring rain falling on us. Two feet from safety a mass of rivets hurtled down on us. One smacked into my left hand. It felt like it had been hit with a ball-peen hammer. Blood poured from a nasty gash. Scott got hit with five or six. One thwacked into his forehead. He cried out and fell to his knees. I grabbed him under his armpits, tried to shelter him while I struggled to get him back on his feet and out from under the lethal storm. With my help he staggered toward the exit. It took several more eternal seconds to get us both out of the maddening tempest and into the swirling storm. Once we were outside, the rain drenched us completely in less than five seconds. The wind howled.
    Scott shook his head.
    “Are